Autoethnography

Abstract

The term autoethnography was described by Reed‐Danahay as ‘a form of self‐narrative that places the self within a social context’. We outline autoethnography’s main characteristics, situate it in relation to the so‐called ‘crisis of representation’, and describe five loosely configured categories of autoethnographic practice. We argue that all types of authoethnography dissolve to some extent the boundary between authors and objects of representation, as authors become part of what they are studying, and research subjects are re‐imagined as reflexive narrators of self. Dismantling the author/represented boundary in this way has implications for how researchers understand their objects of research and ethnographic knowledge itself. The study discusses the relevance for geographers of the various categories of autoethnographic practice and of a broader autoethnographic sensibility.

Mapping pedagogic frailty in geography education: a framed autoethnographic case study

“…Autoethnography can be distinguished from "autobiography" or "memoir" as it makes explicit effort to inform the readers' understanding of some aspect of the social world that exceeds the autoethnographer's individual experience (Butz & Besio, 2009). This is achieved here through triangulation of perspectives as the autoethnography is interrogated through reference to the guiding model that has been developed in dialogue with others (Kinchin, 2015).…”

Living through, living with and living on from breast cancer in the UK: creative cathartic methodologies, cancerous spaces and a politics of compassion

“…Rather than looking at creativity as something outside of myself, however, I write this paper as a creative agent, as the subject and producer of creativity. This is an approach which transcends author/object, insider/outsider, body/mind of representation dichotomies (Butz and Besio 2009). Through my autobiographical creations, I make the case for tender, fleshy, geographic expression which can 'breathe life' into the humanity of the 'lived reality' of going through a cancer diagnosis, allowing for 'visceral resonance' (Sherry and Schouten 2002: 218).…”

Turin and Lingotto: resilience, forgetting and the reinvention of place

“…Some of our memories of Lingotto have been integrated into the analysis, as sorts of 'emotional gazes'. The aim was to produce a thicker ethnographic account of the place through the mobilization of autobiographic materials, intended as the use of personal experiences in order to understand cultural experiences (Butz & Besio, 2009;Ellis, 2003;Purcell, 2009). The idea at the basis of this methodology is that the introduction of personal memories and impressions does not limit the rigour of the analysis.…”